Tag Archive For "Living Memories"
#OdeToYouth: Lesson 2 – Learn how to sweep a floor
My last day of high school was a Thursday. My mother, one of several accomplished hoteliers and caterers in our family, had arranged that I would start apprenticeship at the Tropical African Dream Hotel in Malindi. Apprentices at the hotel were essentially being given practical training for them to become hotel managers. One had to …
#OdetoYouth: Lesson 1 – Learn hard, Make a brave choice
I left Malindi, where I grew up for a major part of my life on January 6th 2000. I knew that moving to the great big city – at a time that my parents had different ideas of what I should do after high school, was scary. But I chose to still follow my heart …
A grand old man passes away, leaving life-long lessons behind.
When I met Mungai Gatoro in 2009, I was awed by his simple eloquence – regardless of what language he was speaking. He spoke Gikuyu, Kimeru, Kiembu, Kiswahili, English and French flawlessly. It was interesting to watch him outside his homestead speaking with different people in the different local tongues spoken in Kiamuthambi near Kerugoya-Kutus. He …
Living Memories: a story from Lokitaung, Kenya
Today, I want to share with you one story. From Lokitaung. There used to be a prison there during the colonial era. After independence it has had little relevance in people’s lives. A few years ago, I happened to be there, and I met an extraordinary man, who told me this story. I heard this …
Long live the Diamond Queen, Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II is celebrating 60 years of her reign of the United Kingdom and its 15 territories. I have no real idea how this affects me – certainly it has not direct bearing in my life that I can see, but I, like many Kenyans and Africans have a certain connection to the throne of …